New Laws Take Effect Today
September 1, 2009
New laws take effect today across Texas that will effect the way many drive and enact tougher penalties on looters and vandals.
Some of the laws passed by the Legislature that garnered a lot of attention include changes to the child restraint requirements, banning the use of cell phones in all school zones, requiring all passengers in a vehicle to wear a seat belt and increasing the number of hours required for driver education for teenagers.
Graffiti vandals will now face stiffer penalties. Those convicted will have to fully reimburse the property owner for damages and perform community service.
Persons convicted of credit card abuse, fraud or identity theft in a case where the victim is over 65 will face up to 10 years in prison.
Tougher penalties were also approved in the wake of looting after Hurricane Ike for thefts or burglaries committed in an evacuation area or an area that is considered in a state of disaster.
Penalties for dog fighting have also been elevated and it is now illegal to possess or own dog fighting equipment.
Convicted sex offenders face new restrictions on internet use and must provide registrars with information about the email addresses they use.
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Judge Ends Testimony In Case That Could Result In Her Removal
August 20, 2009
Texas top judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals completed her testimony in a case that could result in her removal from the bench. Judge Sharon Keller testified that she would have done the same thing if the case were to come up again.
Judge Keller faces five charges of judicial misconduct stemming from her refusal to keep the court clerk’s office open to receive appeals in a death penalty case. She contends that attorneys for Michael Wayne Richard had methods available to them to contact any of the nine judges on the court to submit appeals on his behalf.
The case won notoriety for Judge Keller, with anti-death penalty groups calling her “Judge Killer” for refusing to accept appeals in the case. Richard’s attorneys began a last ditch effort to save him just hours after the Supreme Court halted executions in Kentucky to hear arguements on the process that the state uses to impose the death penalty.
The judge hearing the case will submit his findings to the state’s commission on judicial conduct, who will then decide if they want to dismiss the charges, censure the judge or remove her from the bench.
Judge’s Trial Begins Today
August 17, 2009
An impeachment proceeding for Judge Sharon Keller, who presides over the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, that centers on a death row appeal that she allegedly turned away begins today in San Antonio.
Judge Keller, a Republican who has served on the court since 1994, hasn’t spoken publicly about the issue since being charged with judicial misconduct in February. She is expected to testify in the proceedings.
Golden Restaurants Files Bankruptcy
July 29, 2009
A portion of the country’s largest Hispanic owned businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Fort Worth recently. Golden Restaurants, which operates 50 Golden Corral restaurants in six states, is seeking protection in bankruptcy court in order to keep the business open and running, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News.
The company, controlled by CG Management which is owned by Guillermo Perales, follows other franchises owned by the management company into bankruptcy court.
Attorneys for the restaurant companies say that the filing comes to protect the businesses from a judgement that stemmed between an assault that occurred at a Burger King in Euless in 2004. A jury awarded the victim in that case $800,000 in 2007, and Metro Restaurants, which owned the Burger King, filed a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in July of last year.
Texas AG Going After Debt Relief Companies
May 20, 2009
Four debt relief companies are the target of enforecement action taken by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office.
Dallas area based BC Credit Solutions allegedly told clients that they would have to pay off full balances and interest in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows the amount of money owed to unsecured creditors to be reduced.
LH Financial Service, also based in the Dallas area, allegedly told clients that they would lose their home, investment accounts and other large assets in bankruptcy. Exempt property in the state of Texas includes the homestead and up to $1 million in retirement savings.
Louisville, Kentucky based DebtORSolution allegedly claimed that filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy would result in an auction of all your property, when in practice federal and state bankruptcy exemptions allow the debtor to keep most of thier property.
Scottsdale, Arizona based Four Peaks Financial Services allegedly told customers that their debt settlement program “allows your credit score to dramatically improve,” when in fact it can have a negative impact on a debtors’ credit rating.
Hill Country Galleria Declares Bankruptcy
May 6, 2009
Just hours before the Hill Country Galleria was set to go up at the Travis County foreclosure auction, the shopping center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The bankruptcy filing stops the foreclosure process on the property and will give the developers of the one and a half year old mall on Highway 71 in Bee Cave time to refinance a construction loan that had expired.
Jill Rowe, a local retail broker told the Austin American Statesman that it is not surprising that Opus chose the bankruptcy route, given that the company was unable to convert its construction loan to permanent financing and the project’s layers of lenders. Even if leasing and other aspects of the project are on track, Rowe said, “just the short-term note coming due creates an unworkable situation.”
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop In Arlington
April 23, 2009
A free workshop on foreclosure prevention will be held in Arlington Saturday. It will begin at 9 a.m. at the Junior League of Arlington’s Center for Community Service off Pioneer Parkway and Park Springs Boulevard.
There will be a presentation on foreclosure prevention along with a question and answer session. Participants will also have a chance to meet with mortgage service providers and housing counselors.
The workshop is being held by the Tarrant County Housing Partership in cooperation with the HOPE Partnership. Walk-ins are welcome, but if you plan to attend organizers ask that you register by calling 817-924-5091 or email info@tchp.net.
Foreclosure Filings Spike In Dallas/Fort Worth
April 17, 2009
Foreclosure filings rose to a record high in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex as moratoriums imposed by lenders are ending.
A report in the Dallas Morning News states that over 5,500 homes face sale on courthouse steps across the area in May.
Experts tie the spike in foreclosures to the end of moratoriums at banks following the release of President Obama’s housing recovery plans.
The Treasury Department announced yesterday that 6 mortgage lenders would receive up to $10 billion to help troubled homeowners.
That help may come too late for some in the area. According to Foreclosure Listing Service of Addison, there have been 24,000 homes foreclosed on in Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties since January. That number is up 11 percent over the same period in 2008.
Texas Attorney General Accuses Debt Settlement Firm Of Fraud
March 30, 2009
A Richardson-based debt settlement company faces a lawsuit, filed last week by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, which alleges that it defrauded Texas consumers by failing to negotiate settlements with the customers’ creditors as promised.
A story in the Dallas Morning News says that Abbott’s office received 140 complaints against Credit Solutions of America in the past two years. The Better Business Bureau, which gave the company an “F” says that they have received more than 1,600 complaints against the firm in the last three years.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against Credit Solutions to prevent them from “continuing to unlawfully promise services which it does not deliver.”
A spokesperson for Credit Solutions told Pamela Yip of the Dallas Morning News that the company “works diligently to resolve all complaints with the Better Business Bureau, and to our knowledge any BBB complaints referred to by the attorney general of Texas have been appropriately addressed.”
The company’s mouthpiece also said that they looked forward to working out an “acceptable resolution” with the Abbott and his team.
Texas Teacher Retirement System Seeks Control Of Bank Of America Lawsuit
March 26, 2009
The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas has asked to be the lead plaintiff in a federal class-action lawsuit against Bank of America Corp.
Plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit, filed in January, that Bank of America made “untrue statements” and withheld crucial information from shareholders during its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. last year.
The lawsuit marks the first time that the Texas teachers fund has ever sought lead status, which gives the fund managing control of the case including choosing which attorneys actively oversee the case.
Four other funds, including national public-sector funds from the Netherlands and Sweden and two Ohio employee funds, have asked that the Texas teachers fund be named lead plaintiff.
TRS Spokesman Howard Goldman said that the aim is to improve corporate governance at Bank of America, but that the “TRS hopes to obtain the best financial recovery possible for the harmed investors.”
The California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System also filed for lead plaintiff status in the suit which will be tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Bank of America shareholders have filed numerous lawsuits against the company over its Merrill Lynch acquisition.